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Oilers stay alive at NBC World Series

The Peninsula Oilers defeated the San Diego Waves 9-2 Thursday in a loser-out game of the National Baseball Congress World Series at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium in Wichita, Kan.

The Oilers, the three-time champions and five-time finalists, are now one of three teams left in the tournament. They would reach the championship round with a victory today in a 4 p.m. ADT game against the Nevada (Mo.) Griffons. The game can be heard on 1140 AM. Ben Griset will get the start for Peninsula.

The Griffons stayed alive in the tournament by defeating the Valley Center (Kan.) Diamond Dawgs 7-4 on Friday in a loser-out game. Also Friday, the Santa Barbara (Calif.) Foresters eliminated the Haysville (Kan.) Heat with a 6-4 victory. That means the winner of today's Oilers-Griffons contest will have to beat the undefeated Foresters twice Saturday to secure an NBC crown.

Thursday's win kept the Oilers' season alive after they lost Tuesday to the Foresters.

"That's what we were hoping to see," coach Dennis Machado said by phone. "The game against the Foresters was a tough game. Teams generally go in one of two directions. We were hoping to see them go the right way, which they did."

Machado reached the NBC finals as coach of the Anchorage Glacier Pilots in 2009, the last time a squad from the Alaska Baseball League advanced that far. He also was a player on the 1994 Oilers ­- the last Peninsula squad to win the NBC.

The last ABL team to win the title was the Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks in 2002. The ABL is on its longest title drought at the NBC since 1969, when the Glacier Pilots won the league's first NBC title.

Despite the growing importance of each game, Machado said his squad's approach won't change.

"It's just business as usual," Machado said. "Nothing has really changed from the time we played our first game in Kenai to the time we played our last game here."

Thursday, the Oilers jumped out to a 5-0 lead.

A Tanner Rust RBI single got the scoring going in the top of the first, and Peninsula added another run in the second on a Mike Miller grounder to shortstop.

In the fifth, the Oilers loaded the bases with no outs. Rust hit an RBI sacrifice fly to make it 3-0 before Stephen Branca roped a single to score Patrick Wisdom. Boomer Collins then hit a single of his own, scoring Troy Channing to make it 5-0.

Peninsula starter Jordan Mills wouldn't make it out of the fifth, but Machado said the lanky left-hander did enough to put his team in a winning position.

"He gave us a good couple innings, had a very good tempo," Machado said. "That allowed our defense to work and got us back to the dugout pretty quickly."

Miller, who finished with five RBIs, broke the game open with a three-run home run in the eighth. That was more than enough for the Oilers' bullpen. J.D. Salles, Reese McGraw, Gabriel Asakura and James Mannara all saw action. Salles earned the win.

Peninsula's bullpen took a hit when Brandon Kizer sustained a bulging disk, sidelining him for the tournament. Cameron McVey is day-to-day with tightness in his upper body.

Needing one win to reach the finals, Machado said he could call on any pitcher today.

"We'll be all hands on deck," Machado said. "We're going to have to do whatever we have to do to win tomorrow, then deal with it the next day."